Peter Milobar joins growing field in B.C. Conservative leadership race

“I wanted to be here, 75 feet away from the Premier’s Office, because that is the ultimate goal for the B.C. Conservatives — to unseat the NDP and become government and on that point, all B.C. Conservatives can agree,” he said.

Milobar is the third person this week to join the race, but has also likely leapt to pole position based on his resume in elected politics.

He has represented the Kamloops region in the B.C. legislature since 2017, after serving as mayor of the city for nine years.

His campaign bears the slogan “ready to lead B.C.”

Other fresh candidates in the race to succeed John Rustad, who stepped down last month, include political commentator Caroline Elliott as well as Iain Black, a former minister in the BC Liberal government of Gordon Campbell.

They joined B.C. Conservative MLA Sheldon Clare, entrepreneur Yuri Fulmer and Rossland contractor Warren Hamm among the declared candidates.

University of B.C. political science lecturer Stewart Prest said Milobar stands to own the centrist lane.

“He will appeal to those who wish to vote against the NDP, who are looking to vote for a right-of-centre option, but continue to grieve the loss of the BC Liberals and BC United as an option on the ballot.”

Prest said Milobar’s background in elected politics makes him a “formidable presence in the race, but also likely a polarizing one,” because more populist or social conservative leaning voters are likely to look at him with some skepticism and suspicion.

Milobar said during his announcement that for the party to win, it must grow, adding British Columbians who vote for federal Liberals are welcome in its ranks.

“Their federal voting is not a concern of mine,” he said. “If they believe in the platform that we will be laying out … they’re welcome to join the B.C. Conservatives (and) their views will be listened to, just as every other end of the spectrum will be listened to.”

Prest said Milobar can make a strong case for being able to attract those types of voters.

“But the problem, of course, is that the party that he is aspiring to lead does not have that reputation, and I think many federal Liberal voters are going to continue to look at this B.C. Conservative Party with suspicion, given the populist baggage that comes with it.”

Milobar said the caucus is not as divided over social issues as it might appear. “It might surprise many in the media and the public to realize how well we actually do get along, and how we can have these conversations respectfully.”

He added that caucus members may have differences of opinions, but not differences about “core fundamentals.”

Milobar said those include having safe streets and the belief that you can get ahead by working hard, something that has become increasingly difficult in B.C.

“We might disagree on some of the final (policy) solutions, but the core principles, we actually do agree on, and I think throughout this race, you’re going to see that more and more people are starting to coalesce around and realize, that if we truly want the NDP to no longer be government, we need to focus on those big core issues.”

But Conservatives cannot be afraid to discuss controversial social issues, he added.

Prest said the race so far has seen candidates focus on issues that will tend to unite Conservatives. “But under the hood, we of course, have all these hugely divisive issues within conservatism in the province, and in Canada, more broadly.”

Prest said he expects the race to boil down to a champion from the more moderate wing of the party, and from the more populist wing, noting the public is still waiting on MLA Harman Bhangu to declare his candidacy.

Milobar, who is married to an Indigenous person, opened his announcement by restating his support for the repeal of B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

He said that legislation, like B.C.’s drug decriminalization pilot project ending Jan. 31, is not working.

“David Eby needs to admit it is not working, and we need to restart the reconciliation process in a meaningful way,” Milobar said, adding the law has created economic uncertainty.

“It does not make one racist to say that they do not agree with (the legislation). It simply means we do not agree with this government’s direction on how they are trying to institute reconciliation.”

Milobar has previously condemned derogatory comments by fellow party member Marina Sapozhnikov during the 2024 election campaign and denounced residential school denialism on the floor of the legislature in February 2025.

“My wife, my kids, they’re all Indigenous,” he said at the time. “My grandchildren are Indigenous. My son-in-law is a Tk’emlups band member.”

Milobar’s remarks came after comments by then-Conservative MLA Dallas Brodie, who had written on social media that the “number of confirmed child burials at the former Kamloops Indian Residential (school) site is zero.”

Asked how members of his party might treat him because of his spouse’s background, Milobar said some, including Brodie, have already left the party.

Milobar added that he has never made any secrets about the Indigenous background of his wife and his children.

“They don’t shy away,” he said. “They’re proud of their First Nations heritage … but you know, it’s unfortunate that that’s where it jumps to. If that’s the best (Brodie has) got for why I shouldn’t be the leader of this party and the premier of this province, then I’m in pretty good shape in this race.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Peter Milobar joins growing field in B.C. Conservative leadership race

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